1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radio telephone apparatus for use in, for example, a PHS (personal handy phone system).
2. Description of the Related Art
A radio telephone apparatus is generally used as a mobile station in a communication system such as a PHS including a mobile station, a plurality of base stations and a network control station that controls these stations. When a radio connection to a base station is made while a user carrying the radio telephone apparatus is moving at high speed, for example, in a car or on a train, the network control station tries to hold the radio connection and frequently switches the radio connection to a base station corresponding to the radio area in which the mobile station is currently situated. In a case where the radio area of each base station is comparatively large, even when the user is moving at high speed, it is possible to perform telephone conversation for a short time by performing an incoming call operation to detect incoming call notification from the base station and performing a response operation to respond to the incoming call notification. In the radio telephone apparatus, the type of the ringing tone and the activation or deactivation of output of various notification tones such as a key operation tone and an alarm tone can be preset, and the radio telephone apparatus operates on the basis of the contents of the setting. The radio telephone apparatus performs an automatic response operation and an automatic recording response operation on the basis of the contents of the presetting made by the user.
For example, a prior art disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A 6-133355 relates to a location registration operation performed when the user is moving at high speed in a digital cordless telephone system. The system comprises an exchange station, a plurality of base stations, a multiplicity of mobile stations that move together with the users and an information storage control apparatus. The base stations are connected to the exchange station through a communication network. The information storage control apparatus is connected to the exchange station directly or through the communication network. The mobile stations each exchange conversation or control data by radio with a base station corresponding to, of the radio areas inherent in the base station, the area in which the mobile station is currently situated. The mobile station issues a location registration request when confirming that the area in which the mobile station is currently situated is the radio area of a base station. The location registration request is written into the information storage control apparatus through the base station and the exchange station. Then, the mobile station is notified of confirmation on the opposite path, so that the position registration operation is completed. When a call for a mobile station arrives, on the basis of the information registered in the information storage control apparatus, the base station in which the mobile station is situated or the grouped base stations in the periphery of the base station are accessed by way of the exchange station to call the mobile station. The conversation channel from the calling station to the called station is thus connected.
In the prior art, when the mobile station is moving at a comparatively low speed such as a walking speed, telephone conversation can be smoothly performed because the radio area of the base station is hardly changed. However, when the mobile station is moving at a comparatively high speed such as when the user of the mobile station is in a car or on a train, the base station is frequently changed because the radio area is small. When the base station is more frequently changed, the telephone communication is interrupted or it becomes impossible to receive a call, so that the channel is disconnected.
JP-A 6-133355 discloses an art relating to control of the location registration operation. The location registration operation is performed when a mobile station moves out of the area of the grouped base stations in the call waiting state. The location registration operation is not performed when a mobile station is moved from a base station to another within the area. The above-mentioned problem arises when the mobile station is moving at high speed from a base station to another within the area.
Since the mobile stations operate on the basis of the type of the ringing tone and on the activation or deactivation of output of various notification tones, unless a special setting is made, the notification tones are outputted even when the user of the mobile station is in a public space such as on a train. This makes people around the user unpleasant. In addition, even when the user of the mobile station does not want to perform telephone conversation such as when the user is driving a car, the user who is the driver is forced to perform telephone conversation unless a special setting such as automatic recording response is made.
An object of the present invention is to provide a very convenient radio telephone apparatus capable of surely notifying the user of the arrival of a call by controlling an incoming call response operation of the radio telephone apparatus on the basis of the movement speed of the apparatus.
The invention provides a radio telephone apparatus which serves as a mobile station that performs radio telephone communication with another station through one of a plurality of base stations having at least one radio communication area, and is provided with incoming call operation performing means for detecting incoming call notification from a base station and response operation performing means for responding to the incoming call notification, the radio telephone apparatus comprising:
monitoring means for monitoring a base station which can perform communication with the radio telephone apparatus, and grasping a condition of connection with the base station;
judging means for judging whether the radio telephone apparatus is moving at high speed or not on the basis of the connection condition; and
response controlling means for controlling the response operation performing means so as not to perform an operation to respond to a calling station after an incoming call operation is performed, when the judging means judges that the radio telephone apparatus is moving at high speed during the incoming call operation.
According to the invention, in the radio telephone apparatus serving as a mobile station being movable, a base station which can perform communication is always monitored and the condition of connection with the base station is grasped. Based on the connection condition, it is judged whether the apparatus is moving at high speed or not. For example, the number of times the communication possible base station has been switched within a predetermined unit time is counted, the counted number of times and a predetermined number of times are compared, and when the counted number of times exceeds the predetermined number of times, it is judged that the radio telephone apparatus is moving at high speed. Instead of making the judgment on the basis of the number of times of switching of the base station like this, the radio telephone apparatus may be judged as moving at high speed when a clocked time is shorter than a predetermined time like in JP-A 6-133355. During the incoming call operation performed by the radio telephone apparatus, the response operation is performed on the basis of the judgment result of the movement speed of the radio telephone apparatus. However, the incoming call operation is performed irrespective of the movement speed of the radio telephone apparatus, that is, even when the radio telephone apparatus is moving at high speed. Consequently, the user of the radio telephone apparatus can be notified of the arrival of a call irrespective of the movement speed. During the incoming call operation performed by the radio telephone apparatus, the operation to respond to the calling station is not performed when the radio telephone apparatus is moving at high speed. The incoming call operation is performed even in such a case. Consequently, it is possible to refuse an incoming call whose connection is interrupted because such a call is meaningless.
In the invention it is preferable that the radio telephone apparatus comprises incoming call notifying means for providing incoming call notification on the basis of the control by the response controlling means when the radio telephone apparatus performs the incoming call operation.
According to the invention, the user is notified of the arrival of a call at the radio telephone apparatus on the basis of the control by the response controlling means, that is, on the basis of the movement speed.
In the invention it is preferable that the incoming call notifying means is a sound output device and outputs no sound when the radio telephone apparatus is moving at high speed.
According to the invention, the user is surely notified of the arrival of a call by sound when the radio telephone apparatus is not moving at high speed, that is, when the apparatus is moving at low speed or stationary. When the apparatus is moving at high speed, no sound is outputted. The user is very likely to be in a public space such as on a train when the radio telephone apparatus is moving at high speed. Therefore, by not providing incoming call notification by sound when the radio telephone apparatus is moving at high speed, it does not occur that people around the user are made unpleasant. When the user of the radio telephone apparatus is, for example, driving a car, since the user is not forced to respond to a call, it is unnecessary to perform telephone communication, so that the user is not hindered from driving.
In the invention it is preferable that the incoming call notifying means is a sound and vibration output device, and outputs vibration when the radio telephone apparatus is moving at high speed and outputs sound when the radio telephone apparatus is not moving at high speed.
According to the invention, when the radio telephone apparatus is not moving at high speed, the user is surely notified of the arrival of a call by sound. When the radio telephone apparatus is moving at high speed, vibration is outputted without outputting sound. By not providing incoming call notification by sound when the radio telephone apparatus is moving at high speed, it does not occur that people around the user of the radio telephone apparatus are made unpleasant, and by providing incoming call notification by vibration, the user is surely notified of the arrival of a call.
In the invention it is preferable that the radio telephone apparatus comprises information outputting means for outputting caller information from the calling station when the radio telephone apparatus is moving at high speed during the incoming call operation.
According to the invention, caller information is outputted even if an incoming call is refused when the radio telephone apparatus is moving at high speed during the incoming call operation. Consequently, the user of the radio telephone apparatus can be surely notified of the arrival of a call and can identify the caller. When the user cannot immediately respond to an incoming call like when the user is on a train or driving a car, the user can easily call the caller back at an arbitrary time on the basis of the caller information.
In the invention it is preferable that the radio telephone apparatus comprises:
a sound output device for outputting sound such as a key operation tone and an alarm tone; and
sound output controlling means for controlling the sound output device so as not to output sound on the basis of control by the response controlling means when the radio telephone apparatus is moving at high speed.
According to the invention, when the radio telephone apparatus is moving at high speed, sound output by the radio telephone apparatus is stopped irrespective of the presence or absence of incoming call notification. Consequently, the user of the radio telephone apparatus is not forced to respond to an incoming call, so that the user is never hindered, for example, from driving a car.
In the invention it is preferable that the radio telephone apparatus comprises:
reproducing means for reproducing a predetermined message; and
reproduction controlling means for controlling the operation performed by the reproducing means so as to reproduce the message on the basis of control by the response controlling means, and sending the reproduced message to the calling station when the radio telephone apparatus is moving at high speed during the incoming call operation.
According to the invention, when the radio telephone apparatus is moving at high speed during the incoming call operation, a predetermined message, for example, a message xe2x80x9cThis telephone is moving now. Please call again later.xe2x80x9d showing that the radio telephone apparatus is moving at high speed can be sent to the calling station. This frees the user of the radio telephone apparatus from being forced to respond to an incoming call, so that the user is never hindered, for example, from driving a car. The user of the calling station can immediately grasp the condition of the mobile station and disconnect the line.
In the invention it is preferable that the radio telephone apparatus comprises:
reproducing means for reproducing a predetermined message;
reproduction controlling means for controlling the operation performed by the reproducing means so as to reproduce the message on the basis of the control by the response controlling means, and sending the reproduced message to the calling station when the radio telephone apparatus is moving at high speed during the incoming call operation; and
recording means for recording a message from the calling station responding to the reproduced message being sent.
According to the invention, since the message from the calling station to which the reproduced message is sent can be recorded at the time of automatic response, the user of the radio telephone apparatus never misses the business of an incoming call. Since the user of the calling station can send the business of the call, it is unnecessary to call again. Consequently, the user is never made unpleasant.
The invention provides a radio telephone apparatus comprising:
first communication mode executing means for performing radio telephone communication between a mobile station and another station through one of a plurality of base stations having at least one radio communication area;
second communication mode executing means for directly performing radio communication between mobile stations;
mode selecting means for selecting either the first or the second communication mode by switching therebetween;
incoming call operation performing means for performing an incoming call operation to detect incoming call notification from a base station;
response operation performing means for performing a response operation to respond to the incoming call notification;
monitoring means for monitoring a base station which can perform radio communication with the radio telephone apparatus serving as a mobile station, and grasping the condition of connection with the base station; and
judging means for judging whether the radio telephone apparatus is moving at high speed or not on the basis of the connection condition,
wherein the mode selecting means selects the second communication mode when the radio telephone apparatus is moving at high speed during the incoming call operation.
According to the invention, the radio telephone apparatus selectively executes either the first communication mode employing a PHS, etc. or the second communication mode by the general radio by switching between the two modes. Consequently, an appropriate communication mode can be executed in accordance with the movement speed of the radio telephone apparatus, so that telephone communication can be performed with stability irrespective of the movement speed of the radio telephone apparatus. When the radio telephone apparatus performs the incoming call operation while moving at high speed within the radio area of a base station, the radio telephone apparatus selects and executes the second communication mode. Consequently, when the radio telephone apparatus is comparatively near the calling station, telephone communication can be performed with stability even if the radio telephone apparatus is moving at high speed.